


Good to be Alive

by voices_in_my_head



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Himuro is Cupid, and a nerd, that's basically the whole fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-05
Updated: 2015-07-05
Packaged: 2018-04-07 20:19:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4276647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/voices_in_my_head/pseuds/voices_in_my_head
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"“So, what's the plan?”</p>
<p>“The plan?” Taiga was once again using that look that said he didn't like where Tatsuya was going.</p>
<p>“Yeah, to make him fall for you.""</p>
            </blockquote>





	Good to be Alive

It was a Thursday night and because Tatsuya didn't have anything to do, he'd connected to Skype. The only people he usually used it with were his parents – mother, usually; his dad was no good with technology – and Alex. Now that the Winter Cup was over and he and Taiga were slowly mending their relationship, he too was on that list.

So he didn't see a problem in starting a video chat with him.

“Hey, bro,” Taiga said when they were both on screen and it was only their third time doing it but Tatsuya was still glad to see Taiga had gotten over the whole, “should I call him bro or not?” debate.

“Hello. How was your afternoon?” Tatsuya asked with a little smile and Taiga immediately started telling him about practise and how it was totally unfair that Riko was as cruel as ever even though they'd just won a championship.

“Just think how much worse it would have been if you guys had lost,” Tatsuya replied with a little smile and he was pretty sure Taiga's shudder wasn't pretended.

“It's still unfair. And now with Kiyoshi-senpai gone it's gonna be even harder.”

“Maybe you'll have awesome first-years joining you in April,” Tatsuya said. Yosen too would be losing some of its best players in some months; the seniors had already left the club, in fact, being too busy studying for practise. He hoped some new blood would be joining.

“Yeah, maybe. Anyway, how's school going? Do you have any problems in English? Because man, I don't understand anything! No one speaks like that!” By Taiga's tone he was pretty sure it wasn't his first time complaining about that.

“I don't really mind it. Yes, it's a bit too formal but unlike you, I've actually read Shakespeare and other classics. It helps.”

Taiga sighed, like Tatsuya had just told him the food chain of Maji Burgers was going to close. “Fine, I'll give it a shot. But no Shakespeare. What do you advise?”

Tatsuya immediately smiled. “British literature is very good. For you, I'd advice Frankenstein.”

“There's a book?” Tatsuya just sent him a look and Taiga laughed, “relax, I knew that. Just messing with you.”

“You better be. You could try the Lord of the Rings.”

Taiga scrunched his nose. “You know I don't like the films.”

“One day you'll see how amazing they are and I'll be there to tell you, “I said so”. But okay, then start with “The Hobbit.” It's a pretty small book.”

“But aren't they supposed to be three films?”

“Yes. Peter Jackson's a magician. Just listen to your big bro.”

Taiga snorted, “yeah, who's a huge nerd.”

“I'm not the one that can quote pretty much everything in the Godfather.”

“They're classics,” Taiga immediately defended. “And who of us can actually speak in a pretend language?”

Okay, he had him there and by his smirk, Taiga knew it.

“It's a shame I can't put that in my application letter for university,” Tatsuya finally said and Taiga laughed.

After that they talked a bit more about the upcoming films and then Taiga asked him over to spend Christmas with him.

“Dad's coming too. Unless you're going to LA to be with your parents?”

Tatsuya shook his head, “nah, they're coming for New Year's. They haven't been to a big party like that in over a decade so they're really looking forward for it. Anyway, if you're sure I won't be a bother...”

“Don't be stupid. My dad loves you and it'll be fun. We can marathon Star Wars.”

“Now who's the nerd?” Tatsuya asked but continued before Taiga could defend himself, “I'm glad to accept your invitation.”

“Great. At least Alex will be gone by then...” He shuddered.

“Thinking of the time you caught her and your dad-”

“Don't!” Taiga put his hands over his ears, “do not finish that sentence. I still have nightmares about it.”

Tatsuya laughed, “you're so innocent. Which reminds me...”

“What?” Taiga asked with a look that said that he knew Tatsuya was up to something.

Tatsuya moved forward on his chair. “Who do you like?”

“What!?” Taiga asked all offended, but Tatsuya could see the beginning of a blush on his cheeks.

“Come on, I know you've fallen for one of them. Is it Kuroko-kun?”

“What? No! Why would you say that?”

“He claims to be your shadow.”

“Yeah, in basketball,” Taiga rolled his eyes, like that made perfect sense. Tatsuya just decided to move on.

“Is it Aomine-kun?”

Taiga blinked at him and then started laughing. “Oh man, you're funny,” then he suddenly stopped, “are you serious? Why the hell would you... You know what? Don't tell me; I don't need to know how your weird brain works.”

Tatsuya stuck his tongue out. “It's better for you to just come clean at once, otherwise I won't stop. I have a big list to pick from.”

“What? Every single name of a player we played against?” Tatsuya nodded and Taiga finally sighed, looking away, to something behind the computer. Then he sighed again.

“Come on, just say it. It's...” Tatsuya leaned forward in his computer and if he did that again, the camera would stop being able to pick up his entire face.

Taiga took a deep breath and still not looking at the computer, said, “it's Kise.”

Tatsuya blinked. And then blinked again. “Kise,” it was supposed to have gotten out as a question, but it just left his mouth like a sentence.

“Yeah,” Taiga said and he was blushing again.

“Kise, as in Kise Ryouta? The model? Kaijou's ace? One of the Generation of Miracles?”

“Yes, that Kise. How many Kises do you know?” Taiga asked, sounding a bit upset, probably because he'd been forced to out his secret.

“I had no idea you liked pretty guys,” Tatsuya said seriously and Taiga glared at him.

“It has nothing to do with that. Well, okay, he's super hot but he's also... I don't know, I just like him, okay? Stop mocking me,” he said in the same tone he used to use when Tatsuya was mocking him when they were small kids.

“I'm not mocking you. You have good taste. Unexpected, but good,” Tatsuya nodded at the end of it and Taiga rolled his eyes.

“I'm so glad to have your approval,” he said in a dead-pan tone.

Tatsuya just nodded, like Taiga had said something serious.

“So, what's the plan?”

“The plan?” Taiga was once again using that look that said he didn't like where Tatsuya was going.

“Yeah, to make him fall for you. From the way you're speaking, it's pretty obvious nothing has happened yet between you two, so, we need a game plan.”

“'We'?” Taiga asked but Tatsuya could see he wasn't completely against Tatsuya's remark.

“Of course. I'm going to help you with this.”

“I'm not sure that's a good idea...”

“I'm the best wingman,” before Taiga could retort, he continued, “so, plan. First, do you ever talk or see him?”

Taiga nodded, “I haven't seen him since the Winter Cup since he's resting because of his knee but he texts me everyday.”

Tatsuya whistled at that.

“It's not a big deal. He texts everyone.”

Tatsuya didn't let that deter him in the least. “And do you ever answer?”

Taiga shrugged, “sometimes. He uses a lot of emoticons. I don't know what they mean.”

“Well, learn them. And text him back always. You have to show interest.”

“What if he doesn't want me to be interested?” Taiga crossed his arms, defensive.

“You have to think of this as a basketball game. Let's picture he texts you twenty times a day and you start answering to every single text. One of two things will happen: he'll keep texting just as much or he'll stop. If he stops then he's not interested.”

“And then what do I do?”

“Go to a strip bar.”

“I'm disconnecting.”

“Come on, Taiga, I'm just kidding. This isn't the end of the world. If he doesn't like you, then you move on.”

Taiga sighed, “okay, fine, I'm gonna text him back, and then what?”

“Then you have to pay attention to what he texts. For instance, does he only send small answers, showing no interest? Or is your conversation balanced on both sides?”

“That's not basketball.”

“It kind of is. It's all about communication like with your team and Coach. Except instead of trying to make a move on a game, you're trying to do it in a romantic way.”

Taiga scrunched his nose at the word 'romantic'.

“I might not know Kise-kun, but he seems like someone who'd appreciate romantic gestures.”

“Next thing you'll be telling him to give him flowers.”

“Not yet,” Tatsuya replied and of course Taiga got all upset at that. He lifted one hand before Taiga could explain everything wrong with what he'd just said, “first you have to see if he's interested and then we'll move to step 2.”

“Should I be afraid?”

Tatsuya ignored him. “You're gonna have to show your interest in bigger ways. Ask him out.”

“I'm not sure I can do that,” Taiga said in a low tone and Tatsuya reminded himself that this wasn't a game. It wasn't a death or life situation either but he remembered how it felt to have a crush at Taiga's age (age he'd had the previous year but those were details).

“Yes, you can. Come on, aren't you a tiger?”

Taiga rolled his eyes at their old joke.

“Fine. Let's just start with the texting, okay?”

“Yes!” Tatsuya answered, probably more excited than he should have been and Taiga glared at him.

“You're enjoying this too much.”

“Just want your happiness, bro.”

“Yeah, well...” Taiga started, with a blush, but didn't continue for some seconds. “Thanks. I guess.”

“You're welcome,” Tatsuya smiled.

“But if I get punched, I'm coming for you.”

Tatsuya laughed. Taiga was probably underestimating his charm. Well, okay, not so much that; he really didn't have much of it but that was what made him cute. For Tatsuya that made him want to protect him, but surely some people out there would like that in a romantic way.

“You're going to be fine,” he promised and then allowed Taiga to change the subject to video games.

.

Tatsuya had two more Skype conversations with Taiga before the subject of Kise Ryouta came back up. It wasn't like he wasn't dying of curiosity; he'd simply decided to let Taiga tell him about it when he wanted. Like a good brother he was accepting boundaries. Even if he had almost sent several texts along the lines of, “how is it going???”

He was probably too invested in it but it was a well kept secret – by which he meant only two or three people knew about it – that he was a hopeless romantic and loved to set people up. He might also be so invested because last time he'd tried matchmaking for a friend... it had no turned out well. Let's just say he had promised not to do it again for at least five years.

Taiga started the conversation by complaining about practise as usual – the only reason he didn't put that on Facebook or Twitter was because he'd added Aida-san to both, but soon enough he moved on to the topic Tatsuya actually wanted to hear about.

“I did what you said and we've been texting.”

“And?” He leaned forward in his chair. Yeah, he might have been enjoying this too much.

Taiga shrugged, “it's going alright. It feels a bit more like a conversation now instead of just him telling me something. And he doesn't use so many emoticons since I told him I didn't understand them, or at least when he does, he explains them.”

“Progress!”

Taiga shrugged again, “I don't know. Kuroko told me I didn't have to answer him, that no one did it. So maybe he's just happy someone is actually answering all his texts.”

“Then it's time for step 2,” Tatsuya decided.

“I'm not asking him out.”

“No, no, I've moved that to step 3. Possibly 4. No, step 2 is spending time with time in real life.”

“He can't play basketball yet.”

“Not everything has to do with basketball,” Tatsuya said after rolling his eyes. “Go to lunch or the movies.”

“Just with him? That sounds like a date.”

“No, get Kuroko-kun to ask him. Maybe someone else as well, like Aomine-kun.”

“I'm pretty sure Kuroko will think something is up if I suddenly want to hang out with Ahomine.”

Tatsuya looked straight into the camera.

“Taiga, how should I put this... you're the most obvious person on the planet and Kuroko spends pretty much half his day with you. He's noticed.”

Taiga gave a profound sigh and put his face on his hands, “why do I let you talk me into things?”

“I'm like your subconscience. Deep down you know you want it, but you just haven't accepted it yet.”

Taiga looked up from his hands. “I have a bet with Alex on when you'll be leading me to prison.”

“Think about this way; it'll be an amazing story in some years,” Tatsuya replied with a big smile and Taiga sighed again.

“Anyway, I don't think it's a good idea to go with Aomine... those guys of the Generation of Miracles have a weird relationship.”

“Tell me about it. I've received threatning texts from him, Midorima-kun and Akashi-kun.”

“Because of Murasakibara?”

Tatsuya nodded, “they think we're dating.”

“But you're not?” Taiga asked and he could see that was a question he'd been meaning to ask for some time but like Tatsuya, had decided to let the other breach the subject.

He shook his head, “no. He's cute and nice but eh, not really my type.”

“And did you tell them that?”

“Yes. Aomine-kun said 'good', Akashi-kun 'very well' and Midorima-kun just asked what was wrong with Murasakibara for me not to like him. If you ask me, I think he was projecting.”

“What?” Taiga asked and it took some seconds for him to catch up to his meaning, “wait, you can't mean Midorima and Murasakibara!?”

Tatsuya shrugged, “Atsushi hasn't said anything but... I have a feeling.”

“I'm afraid of your feelings.”

“Shut up.”

“Anyway, I though he was with Takao.”

“You should know that just because two people spend a lot of time together it doesn't mean they're in a relationship. Maybe Kise-kun thinks that of you and Kuroko-kun.”

Taiga rolled his eyes, “you're way too invested in this.”

“It's just because your father and Alex aren't around.”

“I hate you so much,” Taiga glared which just made Tatsuya laugh.

“Don't forget to keep me updated!”

“Dude, you're coming in like two weeks. I'm pretty sure nothing will have happened until then.”

“You never know,” Tatsuya just said and then they moved on to a basketball game Taiga had seen the previous weekend on TV.

.

Even though everytime they spoke through Skype Taiga told him how step 2 was going, like he'd said, there hadn't really been any developments. He'd gone out once with Kise-kun and some other people to the movies, but he said they ended up pretty far from each other and hadn't really been able to talk just the two of them.

But now Tatsuya was on a train to Tokyo with Atsushi and he had at least three weeks to see if things moved on.

“Yo,” Taiga said and hugged him when he saw him.

“It's good to see you,” Tatsuya replied in English and hugged him back. It really was good; their relationship still had some problems; they hadn't really discussed their falling out yet even though they probably should, but it was getting back on its feet.

“Hey,” Taiga nodded at Atsushi who just nodded back, not stopping from eating his... whatever it was he had in his hand. Tatsuya honestly didn't know where he kept coming up with all those sweets.

“My parents are here. Come visit when you can, Muro-chin,” Atsushi told Tatsuya and then he was walking away, towards a couple that was much smaller than Atsushi but that both had the same weird hair colour. Must be something in the Japanese water.

“When is your dad coming?”

“Tomorrow morning. So, what do you want to do today?”

“Have you ever heard of 'In the Flesh'?”

“No...” Taiga arched an eyebrow, “should I have?”

“Absolutely. Come on, you're going to love it.”

“Please tell me it's not a weird film where some scientist has joined sharks with another animal. I can't handle more of those.”

“They're masterpieces.”

“Of trash.”

Tatsuya rolled his eyes but they kept on walking and discussing Tatsuya's poor taste in films – it wasn't like he took them seriously, but you had to give some credit to the people who thought “Sharknado” would be a good idea.

.

They stopped after the first season – it was only three episodes, after all.

Tatsuya was pretty sure Taiga was sniffling.

“Did you like it?”

“I can't believe I'm feeling sorry for a zombie.”

“Wait until you see season two.”

“Why... why would he do that? Man, that's just crazy.”

“But the main character is totally cute, right?”

Taiga nodded. Then he took out his phone. Tatsuya raised an eyebrow but Taiga didn't seem to notice, or pretended not to.

“Who are you texting?” He asked in an innocent tone.

Taiga glared at him, “you know who I'm texting.”

“You should definitely watch the series with him. Season two is very romantic.”

“Shut up,” he finished whatever it was he'd been texting and then put the phone away, getting up. “What do you want to eat?”

“Pizza.”

“Seriously? Japanese pizzas aren't that good.”

“Then we make our own,” he smiled at Taiga, “maybe you could invite some of your friends over.”

Taiga sighed, “please don't say that all the time around my dad.”

“Why? He knows you're gay, right?”

“Yeah. He'd probably join you on your mission.”

“I knew I liked him for a reason.”

Taiga rolled his eyes. “Fine, I'll ask Kise and Kuroko over.”

Tatsuya smiled.

“You can ask Murasakibara, if you want.”

“He's probably spending time with his family. Besides no use in inviting him without Midorima.”

“Oh my God, are you trying to set them up?”

“It's for their own good.”

“When did you become Cupid?”

“You don't choose to be Cupid, it chooses you.”

“You're such a nerd,” Taiga replied and then picked up his phone again. “I'm gonna ask them.”

“You could tell Kise-kun that you asked Kuroko-kun but that he couldn't make it. And I could make myself sparse.”

Taiga stared at him. “First, I'm not gonna lie, and second, it's not a date, okay?”

“Fine, fine. You're probably right, anyway, I need to see how things are going.”

“This is a bad idea, isn't it?” Taiga asked, but he'd already put the phone back on his pocket, probably having already sent the texts.

It didn't take more than five seconds for him to get an answer back.

“Kise's in,” and a couple of seconds later, “so's Kuroko.”

“Then we better start working,” Tatsuya said and got up.

“Yeah, let me see if I have everything we need.”

Tatsuya smiled while following Taiga to the kitchen. This was going to end up a good Christmas.

.

Tatsuya was pretty sure that once his guests were gone, Taiga was going to kick his ass. He couldn't say it would be one hundred percent undeserved but really, he just couldn't look away from him and Kise.

It wasn't like they were doing anything out of the ordinary, just chatting about this and that. Tatsuya was simply doing his big brother job; trying to find out if Taiga's feelings were returned or not.

“You're being very obvious, Himuro-san,” a voice suddenly sounded from his left but Tatsuya was not caught off guard. Much.

“Kuroko-kun,” he smiled, “just looking out for Taiga.”

“So you're the one who's been advicing Kagami-kun?”

“Of course. Is it working?”

“I don't know. But Kise-kun is always talking about Kagami-kun. And vice-versa.”

“So, what do you think?” Tatsuya asked, giving his full attention to Kuroko.

“I think they like each other but are too stupid to notice.”

Tatsuya laughed and two pairs of eyes went to him. He responded in a lower tone, “you're very direct, Kuroko-kun.”

“Thank you,” Kuroko replied and he did seem proud of that fact.

“Hey, do you guys wanna eat or not? The pizzas are ready,” Taiga called from the kitchen and then he was taking two pizzas to put two more back in. It was a good thing he had a big oven.

“Of course, Kagami-kun,” Kuroko said and went ahead of Tatsuya towards the table.

Tatsuya sat beside him, and Taiga would probably say that it was just to make sure he ended up beside Kise but in fact Tatsuya simply wanted to chat more with Kuroko. He'd overwritten him as the least interesting one of the Generation of Miracles bunch, but he was turning up to have been wrong.

Several seconds passed in silence. Well, asides from the biting sounds here and there. Good to see Taiga still ate like a quirrel.

“Does he still eat a mountain of burgers?” Tatsuya asked Kuroko.

“Kagami-kun does eat a lot of burgers. Maji Burger will never go bankrupt as long as he remains its client.”

“Shut up, you bastard. It's not my fault you can only handle a shake.”

Kuroko made another remark which made Kise snort and Taiga looked at him betrayed. Tatsuya was starting to have the feeling that maybe his help wasn't needed. On the other hand, if they kept going this slowly, they'd be second-years before they finally came around to being honest with each other.

The meal passed surprisingly quickly. Kuroko didn't talk a lot, but he always had witty remarks and Kise's stories were interesting, or at least he made them interesting, even if they were about a banal subject.

Tatsuya and Taiga simply talked a bit about the States, which Kise seemed to want to hear everything about.

Over the years, the magic of being in a new place had vanished for both of them, but it was nice being asked so many questions, even if they were about stupid things like the bathrooms.

Once Taiga finished the last slice, he basically fell baskwards.

“You had a good idea, Tatsuya.”

“I always do,” he answered and then turned to Kuroko, “why don't we go and wash the dishes?”

“Of course, Himuro-san.”

“I'll help!” Kise immediately said but just as he'd expected, Kuroko was able to get him to stay.

“That's not necessary, but thank you, Kise-kun. I haven't forgotten Teiko's training camp.”

“That's so mean, Kurokocchi. It's not my fault no one ever taugh me how to wash dishes.”

Kuroko just shook his head and then they went to the kitchen.

They spoke about this and that in low tones but with the sounds of the water running and the cutlery against dishes it was hard to hear what Taiga and Kise were talking about. But Tatsuya could see them talking, at least.

“Who's next on your list, Himuro-san?” Kuroko asked in a far too innocent tone.

“I think there might be something between Atsushi and Midorima-kun but you probably know more about it.”

Kuroko nodded, “yes, they've been dancing around each other since middle school.”

“We should probably help them, right?” Tatsuya smiled and Kuroko nodded again.

“Of course. They're stupid enough to keep on pining for years.”

Tatsuya laughed, “I like you, Kuroko-kun. You're an interesting guy.”

“Himuro-san is interesting too,” then he frowned, but Tatsuya just waited in silence for him to say whatever it was he wanted. “I'm glad you and Kagami-kun have made emends.”

Tatsuya smiled self-depreciating, “I was a jerk. I just couldn't handle the idea of him being better at basketball than me.”

Kuroko nodded, seemingly not judging him.

“Basketball has made a lot of people stupid,” Kuroko said in a tone that said well about how experienced he was with that situation.

Tatsuya sent him a little smile.

“But it has also brought a lot of people together,” Kuroko said and pointed to something behind Tatsuya.

He turned around and found Taiga and Kise kissing.

“Uh, so they don't need our help.”

“I don't think so, no,” Kuroko said in an amused tone.

“You know what this means?” Tatsuya turned to him, “my plan worked.”

Kuroko gave a little smile.

“I think, Himuro-san, we're all going to be okay.”

Tatsuya smiled back at him. Yeah, he was pretty sure of that too. But he was still going to mock Taiga senseless, whether his dad was around or not.

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be romantic... but instead you just have 4k of Himuro playing matchmaker. At least his plan worked.


End file.
